Sifter.



M. LIEBERMAN.

v SIFTER.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. I4, 1518.

1 ,290,597, Patented Jan. 7, 1919.

UNITED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE.

MOSES LIEBERMAN, OF WEST ORANGE, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TQ BALDOR METAL WORKS, INC., OF WEST ORANGE, NE'VV JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

SIFTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. '7, 1 919.

Application filed February 14, 1918. Serial No. 217,072.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, 'MosEs LIEBERMAN, a subject of the Emperor of Austria, residing at WVsst Orange, in the. county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have'invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sifters, fully described and representedin the following specification and the accompanying drawin forming a part of the same.

My invention relates to sifters and more particularly to sifters of the type employing a rotary screen and commonly used for sifting ashes. One of the objects of the invention is to provide an'improved sifter of the character referred to in which the arrangement of the hopper through which the material to be sifted is fed to the screen is such that when the said material is thrown into the hopper, there is no tendency of the sifter to be tilted by the weight of the said material out of operative positionwith respect to the can or other receptacle supporting the sifter and into which the sifted ashes or other material is discharged. Another object of my invention is to provide a sifter which, while having a large capacity, is at the same time very compact, strong and simple and economical in construction. A still further object of the invention is to provide a sifter constructed to cover the ash can or other receptacle, while at the same time permitting ready access to the interior of the receptacle without removing the sifter from operative position with respect thereto. Other objects of the invention will appear more fully hereinafter.

A clear understanding of the invention can best be obtained by reference to the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification and illustrating a sifter embodying approved forms of the invention, and in which Figure 1 is a central vertical sectional View of a sifter embodying one of said forms of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a section thereof taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a section thereof taken on line 38 of.Fig. 1;

Fig. 4c is a fragmentary sectional view of the sifter casing taken on line H of Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a fragmentary central vertical sectional view on a larger scale;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view on line 66 of Fig. 1 but on a larger scale;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view on a larger scale than Figs. 1, 2 and 3 showing the mounting of the cover of the hopper; and

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary transverse vertical sectional View on a larger scale than Figs. 1, 2 and 3 illustrating a modification.

Referring to the drawing, the sifter comprises a shaft 1 about which is arranged a screen 2 supported by the said shaft, as hereinafter explained, the screen being mostdesirably, though not necessarily, cylindrical in shape and having the shaft 1 extending axially therethrough. The ends of the-shaft 1 are mounted in bearings 3 and 4 respectively carried by opposite end walls 5 and 6 of the screen casing. To facilitate the movement of the material to be sifted along the screen, the bearing 4 is arranged somewhat lower than the bearing 3 so that the axis of the shaft 1 and the axis and walls of the cylinder 2 are inclined slightly downwardly and forwardly. The shaft 1 is provided with suitable means. for rotating the same and the screen, such as the crank 8 formed on the end of shaft 1.

It is desirable that. the casing be constructed so as to economize as much as possible in the use of material and labor without sacrificing the strength of the casing or the capacity of the sifter. With this end in view, I desirably form the casing, as shown, with side walls 10 and 11 respectively having integral therewith projecting walls 12 and 13 respectively, parts of which latter form the side walls of the hopper by which the ashes or other material to be sifted is fed into the casing where it is directed, as by the chute 14, into the upper end of the screen 2. The various walls of the casing and hopper, including the walls 10, 11, 12 and 13, are made of suitable rigid flexible sheet material, such as sheet metal. The walls 12 and 13 are best bent outwardly with respect to the walls 10 and 11, as shown in Fig. 3, so that the hopper converges down to the screen casing. The rear or outer edges of the walls 12and 13 are desirably in the same vertical plane asthe corresponding edges of the walls 10 and 11. The front edges of the walls 12 and 13 are desirably parallel to the rear edges of the said walls. The top wall 15 of the screen casing is desirably formed by bending down from one of the side walls 11 to a substantially horizontal position a portion of the sheet of material of which the said wall is made, the extremity of said downwardly turned portion being secured, as by an ordinary tinsmiths joint, to the upper edge of the opposite side wall 10, as shown in Fig. 1. The length of the side edges of the walls 12 and 13 is desirably made substantially equal to the width of the screen casing so that the walls 11, 13 and the top wall 15 of the casing may be conveniently formed out of one rectangular piece of metal, the portions of the said piece of metal corresponding to the walls 13 and 15 being severed from each other by cutting inwardly from one edge of the n'ietal at right angles thereto for a distance corresponding substantially to the width of the top of the casing. The sheet of material out of which the walls 10 and 12 are cut will have a rectangular portion removed therefrom corresponding in size and shape to the top wall 15, but this removed portion can be used to advantage 1n the manufacture of other parts hereinafter more fully referred to.

t is desirable to provide means whereby the sifter may be conveniently supported in position upon the receptacle for receiving the ashes or other material passing through the screen, such means desirably coacting with the body portion of the sifter casing to cover the open upper end of such can or rece tacle to minimize the spread of dust upon the operation of the sift-er. Such means are conveniently provided by forming the lower edges of the'walls 10 and 11 with integral outwardly bent extensions 17, 18 respectively, the said extensions being arranged in the same horizontal plane and being desirably provided at their outer edge portions with integral downwardly extending flanges 19 and 20 adapted to extend outside of the upper edge portions of the can or receptacle to assist in retaining the sifter in position. The bottom of the sifter, as shown, is in the form of an octagon, the outer er ge portions of each of the extensions 17 and 18 providing three of the sides of the octagon. It will be understood that by cutting out or removing small tapering pieces of the material at the points between each two adjacent edges of the octagon, the portions of the material corresponding to the flanges 19, 20 may readily be turned downwardly into position. To give the structure additional strength as well as to provide a smooth edge, suitable means, such as a wire over which the lower edges of the said flanges and walls are turned so as to form a bead, are provided at the bottom of the flanges 19 and 20 and of the rear wall 5 and front wall 6 of the casing. The rear wall is connected to the rear edges of the walls 10, 11, 12 and 13 in any suitable manner, as by the ordinary tinsmiths joint, the entire rear wall being arranged in the same vertical plane from the bottom of the screen casing to the top of the hopper. The front wall 6 is connected to the front. edges of the walls 10 and 11 and to the front edge of the top wall 15 of the casing in any suitable manner, as by the ordinary tinsmiths joint, the wall 6 being also desirably arranged substantially vertically.

Referring to Fig. 1, the front wall 22 of the hopper is inclined so that it extends from a point in proximity to the rear end of the screen 2 approximately at the height of the uppermost portion of the said screen forwardly and upwardly over the said screen, the upper edge of the said wall being approximately in alinement with the corners between the upper and front edges of the walls 12 and 13. It is desirable that the downwardly and outwardly inclined hopper be very materially larger at its upper end than at its lower end, and the wall 20 is accordingly inclined at a rather sharp angle to the horizontal, for example, at about an angle of 45, as shown. With this construction the hopper is arranged so that it extends inwardly to a considerable extent directly over the screen, whereby a very compact arrangement is obtained. Furthermore it will be seen that there are no heavy parts of the sifter which project outwardly beyond the flanges 19 and 20 and the walls 5 and 6, so that the sifter will rest very firmly on the ash can or receptacle by which it is supported. It will be seen that the center of the hopper, or the center of gravity of the material filling the hopper, is located a considerable distance inwardly of the space bounded by the vertical planes passing through the front and rear walls of the casing and the flanges 19 and 20, so that the tendency of the sifter to be tilted by gravity out of position with respect to the can or receptacle by which it is supported when ashes are thrown into the hopper is avoided. The wall 22 may be secured in position in any suitable manner, as by the lateral marginal flanges 25 fastened, as by rivets, to the walls 12, 13. As shown, the upper edge of the wall 22 is secured, as by the flange 26, to the upper portion of a vertical wall 27. The latter wall is secured in any suitable manner, as by the ordinary tinsmiths joint, with the forward edge portions .of the walls 12 and 13. As shown, the lower edge of the wall 27 is turned inwardly, as shown at 28, to form a flange upon which the rear edge of the upper wall 15 of the casing rests. It will be seen that with the construction de scribed the hopper is of a very rigid and strong construction, the vertical wall 27 coacting with the side walls 12 and 13 to firmly brace the hopper in place.

-- The rear chute l i is desirably inclined downwardly and, forwardly at a considerable angle, as .shown, and, is also desirably curved transversely so that its forward edge has approximately the-same shape as'the interior of the screen. The chute, as shown, is provided with lateral marginal portions which are first directed horizontally outwardly and then upwardly, as clearly shown in Fig. ,3, the upwardly extending edge portions being riveted orotherwise suitably secured to the walls l0 and 11. The;.forward end .of the chute l4 desirably projects into the screen 2 beyond the rear edge thereof fora substantial distance in orderto ginsure against the dropping of the material ,to be sifted through the sitter into the ash can or the like without passi-n through the screen, the forward edgeoft e chute '14jb6- ing arranged in comparatively close prox-v imity to the inner wall of the screen. The chute 14, asv shown, has an opening at the rear thereof through which the shaft 1 passes and may be provided with ,means such as the tab 30 forsecuring it tothe rear wall 5. Inorder-to prevent the material to be sifted from falling on ,the exterior of the screen at the upper end thereof, a confining wall 31 is provided. This wall, aseshown, is arranged substantially vertically andprpvided with a semi-circular or otherwise suitably Shaped opening 32 through which theashes may pass into thecylinder, this openingbeingdesirably slightly smaller in diameter than the screen. The wall 31 is best made continuous with the wall 22, both of these walls being formed from a singlesheetof rigid flexible material, such ,as sheet ,metal. For securing the wall 81 in position, suitable meansare provided, such as the projections 33 extending from thewlower edge thereof and passing through locking openings in the outwardly directed marginal portionsof the chute 14,.asshown in Fig. 3.. The wall 31 is desirably fastened to the walls 10 ,andll, as-by the flanges 34.

The good coal or other material which does not pass through the screen ,passes out of the sifter through suitable means such asfthe spout 24. As shown,the,said;spout is rectangular in cross-section and inclined downwardly and outwardly. The upper and side edges of .the rear portion ofthe spout are secured respectively ;to the upper andside-edges-ofran openingin the front wall of the casing, as by means of the ordinary tinsmith7s join't, as shown more; clearly ingFigs. 2 and I5. The-lower wall 35 of the spout projects inwardlybeyond the. forward edgeof the screen 2 a slight distance as shown, so as to lessen the cha-nce fthe material passing out of 'theforward; endof the .screen falling-down .intothe ashcan rather than into the. spout. It is, of course, understood: that. the ashes. or other. material passing through the screen passes downwardly through the open lower portion of the screenflcasing into the ash can or other receptacle upon which the sifter is sup ported.

To support a pail or other device for receiving the good coal or other material pass,- ing out of the spout 24, means such as the hook 36 may beprovided, this hook being desirably formed integral with the bearing, 4, as shown. Suitable means, such as the lpin ;37 may be provided to prevent the shaft 1 from being drawn rearwardly out of the bearing 4.

The screen 2 may be made of anysuitable material suchas wire gauze having a meshofsui'table size, and is held in shape and supported upon the shaft 1 by suitable means ldesirably comprising braces 40 and 4-1. I prefer to make thesebraces of sheet material and for this purpose I may use the rectangular pieces ofsheet metal hereinbefore referred to as removed from the sheet of which the walls 10 and '12 are formed. Each of these braces is bent into the form of a channel, as shown, the longitudinal marginaledges of the "flanges of the channelbe'ing desirably turned or beaded over, as shown at 41 in Fig. 6. The ends of the flanges of each brace'are turned inwardly upon the webs of the channels, as shown in Fig. 6, theends of the braces being then bent at right angles to the body thereof and secured to the screen. The screen is desirably formedof .one sheet of material bent into substantially the desired cylindrical or other shape, the longitudinal edge portions thereof vbeingsecuredtogether, asgby being securely clamped under the inwardly turned edge portions of a. bar '42,

of suitable material, such as sheet'metal, as shown in Fig. 16. This bar extends throughout thelength of the screen on the outside thereof and a similar bar 43 extendsalongthe opposite side of theiscreen from one end to theother thereof on the outside of the screen. The braces and the longitudinal members 42 and .43 may be, secured to the screen in any-desirable manner, preferably by suitable means, such as rivets pa'ssing through the overturned end portions of the braces and the bars 42 and 43, as shown. To prevent relative movement between the-braces 40 and 41 and the shaft 1,-whicl1 passes through central open ings in the ,webs of the braces, suitable means areprovided, such .as the cotterpins 4 4passingthrough the flanges of thebraces and-through the said shaft. The screen 2 is desirably provided with suitable reinforcing edging at its front and rear edges, asshownat 52 and 53. Thisedging may be in the format strips of sheet metal turned over and clamped upon the respectiveedge portions of; the screen.

The hopper of the sifter may be provided with a suitable cover a6 which, as shown, is hinged to the wall 27 by suitable means, such as the sheet metal straps 4:7 passing around the reinforcing wire 48 extending through the heading running around the top of the hopper. The cover A6 may project a suitable distance beyond the wire 48, as shown, so as to engage the wall 27 to limit the opening movement of the cover.

It is sometimes desirable to get access to the interior of the can or receptacle upon which the sifter is supported without removing the sifter from position, as for the purpose of throwing paper or other materials into the can. To this end, 1 may connect one of the horizontal cover extensions, as 18, pivotally with the adjacent side wall of the casing, as shown at 50 in Fig. 8. The rest of the sifter may be and desirably is identical with that hereinbefore described. A projection 51 may be formed on the inner end of the extension 18 to engage the wall 11 and limit the downward movement of the extension 18 when the sifter is lifted from the receptacle. It will be seen that without the necessity of lifting the sifter from the ash can or other supporting reeeptacle, the cover piece or extension 18 maybe readily lifted, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 8, to permit access to the interior of the receptacle. 7

While I have shown certain preferred forms of my invention, numerous modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of my invention.

What I claim is:

1. A screen rotatable about an axis extending longitudinally thereof, a casing for said screen, means for directing the material to be sifted into one end of said screen, said means comprising a hopper having an inclined portion extending inwardly over said screen, and means for bracing said portion of the hopper in position, said bracing means comprising a wall connected to the inner and side walls of the hopper.

2. The combination of a screen casing comprising a body portion adapted to incase the screen and having connected therewith spaced upwardly projecting walls forming the side walls of a hopper for feeding the material to be sifted to the screen, spaced end walls for the hopper, one of said end walls being arranged between said upwardly extending walls at an angle to the horizontal, and a wall extending upwardly above the body of the casing and for bracing the hopper connected with said spaced upwardly extending walls and with said angularly extending wall.

8. The combination of a screen easing comprising a body portion adapted to incase the screen and having connected therewith spaced upwardly projecting walls forming the side walls of a hopper for feeding the material to be sifted to the screen, spaced end walls for the hopper, one of said end walls being arranged between said upwardly extending walls at an angle to the horizontal, and a wall extending upwardly above the body of the casing and for bracing the hopper connected with said spaced upwardly extending walls and with said angularly extending wall, the other of said end walls being arranged substantially vertically.

4:. The combination of a screen easing comprising a body portion adapted to incase the screen and having integral therewith spaced'upwardly projecting walls forming the side walls of a hopper for feeding the material to be sifted to the screen, spaced end walls for the hopper, one of said end walls being arranged between said upwardly extending walls at an angle to the horizontal, and an upwardly extending wall connected with the edge portions of said spaced upwardly extending walls and with said angularly extending wall.

5. A sheet metal casing for a movable screen having spaced side walls provided with coacting laterally extending means including an extension integral with one of said side walls for covering the receptacle for receiving the material passing through the screen, and a hopper for feeding into said casing the material to be sifted, each of said side walls having integral therewith means forming one of the side walls of said hopper.

6. A sheet metal casing for a movable screen having spaced side walls provided with coacting laterally extending means including an extension integral with one of said side walls for covering the receptacle for receiving the material passing through the screen, and. a hopper for feeding into said casing the material to be sifted, each of said side walls having integral therewith means forming one of the side walls of said hopper, one of said side walls having also an integral portion bent at an angle thereto and connected with the upper part of said other side wall. I

7. A sheet metal casing for a movable screen having spaced side walls provided with coacting laterally extending means including an extension integral with one of said side walls for covering the receptacle for receiving the material passing through the screen, and a hopper for feeding into said casing the material to be sifted, each of said side walls having integral therewith means forming one of the side walls of said hopper, the hopper having end walls, the outer end wall being arranged substantially vertically and the inner end wall being inclined upwardly and inwardly, one of said side walls of the casing having also an integral portion bent at an angle thereto and connected with the upper part of the other side wall.

8. A casing, and means for directing material into said casing, said means comprising a downwardly and outwardly inclined hopper carried by said casing, said casing having spaced side walls provided with coacting laterally extending means for covering the receptacle for receiving material passing from the casing, each of said side walls having integral therewith means forming one of the side walls of the hopper, the hopper having end walls, the outer end wall being arranged substantially vertically and the inner end wall being inclined upwardly and inwardly, the center of said hopper being located inwardly of the outer edges of said covering means.

9. A casing, means for directing material into said casing, said means comprising a downwardly and outwardly inclined hopper carried by said casing, and means for supporting the casing on a receptacle for receiving material passing from the casing, each of the side walls of the casing having connected thereto a projecting wall forming one of the side walls of the hopper, the hopper having end walls, the outer end wall being arranged substantially vertically and the inner end wall inclined inwardly, the center of said hopper being located inwardly of the outer edges of said supporting means.

10. A sifter, comprising in combination a screen, a casing therefor, means for directing the material to be sifted to said screen,

said means comprising a downwardly and outwardly inclined hopper carried by said casing, and means arranged at the bottom of said casing and coacting with said casing for covering the receptacle for receiving the material passing through the screen, the center of said hopper being located inwardly of the periphery of said covering means.

11. The combination of a shaft, a screen arranged around said shaft, means supporting said screen upon said shaft, said means comprising spaced channel shaped members formed of sheet metal and having their end portions bent over and secured to said screen at opposite points thereof, said shaft passing through the web portions of said channel shaped members, and means coacting with the flanges of said members and said shaft for preventing relative movement between said members and said shaft.

12. The combination of a shaft, a screen arranged around said shaft, and means supporting said screen upon said shaft, said means comprising spaced channel shaped members formed of sheet metal and having their end portions bent over and secured to said screen at opposite points thereof, said shaft being secured to said members.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

MOSES LIEBERMAN. Witnesses:

H. BAOHMAN, THERESA LEUGHS.

copies of this patent may be obtained for he cents each, by addrealing the Oommluloner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

